Let's recap: I have had three surgeries (breast cancer, full hysterectomy, knee surgery) and quite a few procedures over the past six years. I have also had radiation, a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, the flu, a sprained ankle, and so on and so forth. And ALL of the other doctors appointments that go with all of these things.

Twice surgeries or related to surgeries have conflicted with my Penn Medicine dermatology appointment. One time I completely forgot an appointment in the sea of medical appointments I have had the past few years. I felt awful. I had never done that before.

Most recently, this spring I had knee surgery. I could not drive for a couple of months BEFORE the surgery (driving leg was injured) , and could not drive for quite a while after surgery…and I am still doing rehab on my leg. After my surgery, but before I could drive, I had to cancel my at that point twice canceled dermatology appointment with Dr. Rudolf Roth, whom I really like and have worked well with.

When I canceled my dermatologist appointment, I actually spoke with someone in the dermatology office at Penn Medicine in Radnor. I explained that I literally could not drive and was so sorry to cancel an appointment. The woman on the phone said it was no problem, to just reschedule when I could. I asked at the time if it was a problem to reschedule in the summer, and was told that was fine.

I have this weird thing on my hand, and having had radiation treatment I am paranoid about my skin. So I went to mypennmedicine, the website Penn Medicine wants you to use…and let us not forget that their horrific phone system makes it almost impossible to speak to an actual human being most of the time. I went to my drop down menu to make an appointment and chose my dermatologist, Dr. Rudolf Roth, and completed the form to get an appointment.

I got a reply back that I did not see until about an hour ago:

What the hell???? This is Penn Medicine patient services? So I sent a reply back and yes I was damn snippy. I own it. But Geez Louise, why does someone tell me it's OK, just connect when I want to reschedule and this is the fine how-Dee-do? Are there zero patient notes as to WHY I missed the appointment that put me over the edge with the "patient services associate"????

So I went back to the menu of contact your doctors or whatever the hell they call it, and pull down my list of doctors, and guess what? They removed my dermatologist as one of my doctors.

Sorry not sorry but that is total bullshit. And I am calling bullshit on Penn Medicine. I have played by the rules, jumped through the veritable hoops of their layers of systems. And my goodness haven't I paid them enough co-pays over the years?

So yeah, I am venting via my blog. No one told me when I had to cancel my appointment earlier this year that I would no longer be a patient. I was told to reschedule.

This is crap. When Penn Medicine has gotten so big that patients aren't people, just bodies, it's a problem.